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How widespread is Sexism in Sailing?


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I'm bored - let's start a dogfight.

 

There's no doubt that it exists. On another thread BB complained about it and there have been others. (Remember the customers perception is the reality - if they (females) say so then it is true.)

So how bad is it and what should we be doing about it?

 

Lots of people from YNZ to Dry Reach would like to see more women involved in our sport, but are we shooting ourselves in the foot with antiquated attitudes?

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Could be fun..

 

It is seen that often when sailing you get wet, cold and yelled at (not neccessarily in an argressive way, but just to be heard). Females are far smarter than males, and they just don't want to do this. Its like womens rugby. Some play, but the vast majoirty of women don't want to. Fair enough

 

I think it is seen as a bit of a macho sport, and if we only get stroppy feminists defending women sailors, that doesn't help things. We need to see catwalk models out there doing bow in their bikinis, not bushpigs attacking every male in sight in case they might consider saying somethinig sexist.

 

I'd love to see more women out there, and have always encouraged my current partner (and my exs) out sailing. They all enjoy(ed) it and at least one continues to sail.

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Guest Rocket

We have ladies on all our keel boats - and the good ones do a great job - you do have to recognise that they aren't normally as physically strong as blokes so on a big fat loaded up boat there are some spots where the smaller ones shouldn't go. But that goes for smaller fellas as well....

 

Technique is way more important than size... but size does count.

 

In the dinghys the kids seem to treat the ladies as true competition - personally as a full rig jelly belly I would love to be able to beat the likes of Jo Alley in her radial around the track in a breeze. The top girls certainly have my respect (as do the kids)!

 

In fact I am probably more ageist than sexist - I love beating the kids in a bereze - the look of horror as they release the old fat bastard is going to beat them makes it worth every ache the next day.

 

ntg too sexist there is there?

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Yes sexism is alive and well in some parts of keelboating but it's not all bad and you just have to find the right people to sail with!

 

There are lots of women out sailing in keelboats, they just don't sail in all-female teams.

 

I did some two handed sailing with Lisa Knapton and Kate Brunette, and a bit of single handed racing on Cool Change. And I didn't have an autohelm! One of my best memories was a tacking duel with RnB up by Princess Wharf and they only just beat me right at the end. I was single handed and they were three or four up.

 

I was a bit paranoid about anchoring and had a really heavy anchor and it was great to be able to ask a burly lad to come and help me throw my anchor over during the stopover on the single handed race to Waiheke.

 

I don't think being female was a handicap, although size and weight sometimes was. It took me a lot longer to hoist a sail by myself than it did for a guy. But by the time I sold the boat it was well set up for me to manage most things by myself.

 

Women approach things differently - for example if we're dropping a kite under pressure I always put the halyard around the winch once because I know I probably can't hold it. But guys hate that and think it's slow (not as slow as dropping the kite in the soup though). I can't get a big headsail sheeted in as quickly as a guy but if I'm helming a girl is trimming I'll always steer a bit more slowly through the tack.

 

However it didn't stop me - yes I encountered heaps of guys that wouldn't give me a chance and it wasn't the boat owners it was usually the guys I was jostling for space with in the cockpit - but when that happened I'd just move on to another boat with different people and eventually I think proved myself.

 

I know that now I've had kids (I had 3 under 3.5 and now 3 under 4 so fairly full on) I just don't have the opportunity to sail. I think sailing loses more women to that than for any other reason.

 

In the last YNZ survey 28% of club members were female. Privately I think that probably a reasonable proportion of them are social members or club volunteers and not necessarily taking part. I think in club keelboat racing there are maybe 10-15% women.

 

On the plus side you can buy very cool sailing gear for women which wasn't available ten years ago.

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One of my best memories was a tacking duel with RnB up by Princess Wharf and they only just beat me right at the end. I was single handed and they were three or four up.

 

Dinghy sailor.

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What Zoe said and I'll add that maybe the technical side of operating a boat does seem to scare some ladies. We see it at work a bit where some seem quite concerned they'll get the wrong stuff so will ring some bloke to check.

 

A lot tracks back to the past where ladies where there to cook and clean for the blokes. I'm sure most of our parents were from or were just leaving that era. Saw it when Dad died, Mum had no idea how some things worked and why as Dad always did them. See the same thing a lot with many of Mums mates when their Hubby passed on, the women left trying to catch up with alsort of things. It takes time to change a deep attitude like that.

 

But it is changing and relatively quickly. So along with that is more women out there giving it a go and bashing the 'establishment', for lack of a better word, a bit like what Zoe described.

 

Zoe and my kids will step that up a level more as the young girls of today regard themselves very equal too and often better than blokes in most areas, correct or knot ;)

 

So yeap, sexism is alive and well but on the way out.

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You're all just sitting there waiting for me to have a go at Clipper aren't you? You want me to crucify him don't you? You want me to hang him up by his balls and figuratively thrash him with my indisputable logic and eloquent turn of phrase, don't you?

 

Sorry, not today guys. Work to do.

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I am all for Woman on my boat. The more the better. And I would encourage yachting safety in not having too much lose clothing that could get caught up in winches and the likes. Besides, Guys just don't cook or clean as well. (oops sorry guys, that's not sexestis it?)

Now, if I could just convince my wife :roll:

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What Zoe said and I'll add that maybe the technical side of operating a boat does seem to scare some ladies. We see it at work a bit where some seem quite concerned they'll get the wrong stuff so will ring some bloke to check.

 

.

 

I used to find that frustrating on both sides of the equation. As a generalisation, a new guy would get on the boat and claim to know what he was doing. You'd put him on a winch it turned out he didn't know how to use and watch the tackline fly as soon as the kite filled. A woman would ask how to do it or wait how to be taught and still look for guidance, sometimes being way too hesitant, when you really just wanted them to give it a go.

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You're all just sitting there waiting for me to have a go at Clipper aren't you? You want me to crucify him don't you? You want me to hang him up by his balls and figuratively thrash him with my indisputable logic and eloquent turn of phrase, don't you?

 

Sorry, not today guys. Work to do.

 

Sorry folks. I tried though.

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What Zoe said and I'll add that maybe the technical side of operating a boat does seem to scare some ladies. We see it at work a bit where some seem quite concerned they'll get the wrong stuff so will ring some bloke to check.

 

.

 

I used to find that frustrating on both sides of the equation. As a generalisation, a new guy would get on the boat and claim to know what he was doing. You'd put him on a winch it turned out he didn't know how to use and watch the tackline fly as soon as the kite filled. A woman would ask how to do it or wait how to be taught and still look for guidance, sometimes being way too hesitant, when you really just wanted them to give it a go.

 

Ha Ha, and the one you want on your boat, is the one who hesitates and asks a question, rather than the know it all who charges forth un informed and keeps stuffing it up !

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